semi-skim

[Victor Steinbok]

In my mind, Chris's country labels were reversed, which is why I did not
even notice it. Folk history has it that "supermarket" originated in the US.

As for "spa", AHD4 doesn't have it either, but it does have a "regional
note" suggestion that in "Eastern New England" it means "soda fountain".
In the 28 years that I've been living here (minus 6 years spent
elsewhere), I've never heard the expression. Maybe I haven't been paying
attention. I have heard spa==grocery store/corner store in Vermont, but
expressed by non-natives. Speaking of which, "corner
store"==grocery/general store is not in OED, although it's in Wiki,
Encarta and Macmillan. I've heard it used in reference to small local
stores that are NOT at a corner, but never for chain convenience/-t stores.

As we are daisychaining, "convenience store" also not in OED, although
it is just about everywhere else. But you can find it IN the OED under
"mixed":

> mixed business n. /Austral./ a shop selling a wide variety of goods,
> often incorporating a newsagent, delicatessen, etc., and sometimes
> also a petrol station; a convenience store.

Note that in "Eastern New England" I also often here "convenient
store"--probably more often than "convenience store". Other regional
variations I've heard are simply "convenience" and "packie".  The latter
IS in OED under packie n.2, with antecedent "package store" and a "US
regional (New England)" tag. Package store is specifically one with a
liquor license, so, in Massachusetts it would generally be a specialized
"liquor store". But I've heard the "packie" reference from my South
Shore friends when they simply went to a convenience store for random
items (particularly cigarettes). [Note that there are four examples in
OED--2 from MA, 1 from RI and 1 from NH.] Another regional tag
associated with the "packie" is "brick". There is a general definition
of brick, e.g., AHD4: "An object shaped like such a block: a brick of
cheese." But the specific meaning I was looking for is a large case of
beer in cans--usually 24 or 30, sometimes 32 or 36 cans. The usage is
quite common, although I'd be hard-pressed to track it down in print.

http://tinyurl.com/496jpps

     VS-)

On 2/28/2011 1:19 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> At 2/28/2011 11:14 AM, Chris Waigl wrote:
>> ...
>> In the UK, semi-skimmed would usually refer to
>> milk containing 1.7-2% of milk fat (as sold in
>> the supermarket(UK)/grocery store(US)).
> We have le supermarché in the continental U.S.
> too.  And in my region not the "grocery store" but the "spa".  :-)
>
> [Spa" as "grocery store" is *not* in the OED?  :-( ]
>
> Joel

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